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Commissioners

The function of the Commissioners, who completed their work in June 2005, was to verify and evaluate claims, and in so doing, to determine whether the damages were suffered as a direct result of Iraq’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The Commissioners assessed the value of losses suffered by claimants and recommended compensation in reports to the Governing Council.

Commissioners were chosen for their integrity, experience and expertise in such areas as law, accounting, loss adjustment, assessment of environmental damage, and engineering. They were international lawyers and other professionals with established international reputations. The geographical diversity of the Commissioners’ nationalities was an important factor in their selection. The 59 Commissioners appointed represented 40 different nationalities.

Candidates for the position of Commissioner were chosen by the Executive Secretary, usually from a Register of Experts that had been established by the Secretary-General in 1991, that was subsequently regularly updated and maintained by the Secretariat. The Executive Secretary recommended the candidates to the Secretary-General, and if approved, the Secretary-General nominated them for the Governing Council’s decision. Commissioners were appointed for fixed terms.

The Commissioners worked in panels of three. Each panel was established to review a specific category or sub-category of claims. In total, there were nineteen panels of Commissioners.

The panels of Commissioners met in Geneva, the Commission's headquarters. The Commission periodically contracted expert consultants to assist the panels of Commissioners in the valuation and quantification of claims. Further information about the way in which the panels worked is contained in the claims processing section on this website.